


Sleight of Hand

by rhetoricalrogue



Series: Once More With Feeling [1]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: F/M, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Short One Shot, pregnancy mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-09
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-11-14 11:09:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18051371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhetoricalrogue/pseuds/rhetoricalrogue
Summary: A trip to an abandoned amusement park brings up some old memories for Olivia.





	Sleight of Hand

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted to Tumblr back in January of 2016.

“You know that this is all sleight of hand, right?”

Olivia shook her head. “Of course it is, but _still._ ” She tugged on his hand as they wandered the fairgrounds, following the sound of the calliope. “Come on, afterwards I promise I’ll go on any ride you want, even that horrible haunted house one.”

Nate laughed, pulling Olivia back until she was snug against his side. “You always get so scared, Olive.” He kissed the side of her head as he slung his arm around her shoulder.

She snuggled closer. “And _you_ always like it when I jump in your arms, Beefcake.” She hitched the teddy bear Nate had won for her higher on her hip and pulled him towards the area the magician was performing. “Besides, my feet hurt and the Little Loaf is complaining.”

He looked down at her. Olivia wasn’t that far along in her pregnancy, the barely noticeable bump disturbing the line of her dress. “My little girl probably didn’t like the corn dog and sweets you’ve been feeding her.”

“Your little boy _wanted_ that funnel cake, Nathaniel,” she teased back, leaning against his side. She tilted her head up and kissed his cheek. “Want to know the secret to magic shows?” she asked, her breath tickling at his ear.

He turned his head and caught her lips with his. “Enlighten me, sweetheart.”

Olivia pointed towards the crowd closest to the magician. “See all those kids? _They_ don’t know that this is just smoke and mirrors and an incredible amount of talent. Even if you’ve seen the act a hundred times, this is their first time. Watch their reaction.”

Nate found seats at the edge of the crowd and did as she asked, watching the kids in the front row the entire show. It wasn’t long before he was caught up in their enthusiasm and sense of wonder, laughing at the overly cheesy jokes and clapping with each trick.

“See what I mean?” Olivia asked, reaching over to pick at the half-eaten bag of cotton candy he held.

“Yeah, you were right.” Smiling at her, he winked. “I can’t wait to take our baby here and see what they think of it.”

She linked her fingers with his. “Me neither.”

* * *

“’Liv?”

Olivia blinked. Instead of the familiar sights and sounds of the fairground, there was nothing but rust and half-standing buildings. The once vibrantly colored stalls were either being held up by sheer determination or the rotting wooden walls were reinforced with salvaged materials. “Sorry, just…” she sighed, shaking her memories back in place where they belonged. “Just trying to figure out where we should hit first for good salvage parts.”

Danse pointed towards the concession stand next to the skeletal remains of the Ferris wheel. “We can mark this spot on the map for settlers to come and collect the steel, plus there may be some food worth looking in there for.”

She nodded, her eyes going to the faded and ragged looking stuffed bears in a nearby stall. “Hey, do you think that you could win me one of those?” she asked. Her heart twisted in her chest when he contemplated the challenge.

“If you really want one…” he started, picking up a rock and getting ready to throw it against the bottles that had managed to stay stacked just so for all these years.

She shook her head and put her hand on his arm. “No, it’s okay. We need the room in my pack for more important things anyway.”

They walked towards the concession stand and something fluttering caught his attention. “I always wanted to see one of these shows,” Danse mused smoothing out the ad for a magician.

“You know that it’s all sleight of hand, right?”

He shrugged. “Of course it is. But _still._ ” He cleared his throat. “You're right. We really ought to be focusing on the task at hand, not going over silly ideas.”

Olivia looked up at him and while she still felt the ache in her chest from thinking about her husband in a once-familiar setting, she wanted to create some new happy memories with the man next to her. This shift in their relationship was still so new that they both had blushed when Preston had teasingly told them to have fun on their scouting date. “Tell you what,” she said, reaching out and lacing her fingers with his. Her breath caught in her throat when he squeezed back, a small smile on his lips. “We’ll secure the area, do a search for supplies, and set up a radio beacon for settlers to scavenge the bigger pieces. Then we’ll head on over to where this magic show was.”

“What for? Even if there were still some things there, it’d take a person trained in…”

She silenced him by going up on her tiptoes and pressing her lips to his cheek. “I didn’t spend most of my childhood watching these types of shows without picking up a trick or two along the way,” she murmured in his ear. She smiled as his expression relaxed and he nodded. “So what do you say, Big Guy? Want to see me saw a lady in half?”

He was about to ask her if people _actually_ sawed women in half on a stage for entertainment when they heard the telltale shrieks and groans of feral ghouls. They barely had enough time to ready their weapons when they began to stumble out of the remains of the haunted house.

“I never liked that one,” she groaned, taking aim. “Nate would always…” she stopped herself when she realized the direction the conversation might turn.

Danse’s shot neatly sheared off a feral’s skull, the body landing in the dirt with a muted thud. His second shot turned another charging ghoul into ash. “I’d like to hear more about him, if it’s all right with you.”

Olivia shot the legs out from under another ghoul. “You don’t mind?”

“I wouldn’t have asked otherwise.” He gave her a sideways glance, covering her while she reloaded. “Your husband will always be a part of you and I would never want to take his place. I can tell that his loss hurts and I’ve heard that talking things through helps with the grieving process.”

Threat cleared, she turned towards him. She smirked when his eyes widened as she pulled him down by the collar of his flannel shirt and kissed him, drawing away before he could kiss her back. “What was that for?” he asked, a lopsided smile plastered on his face.

“For being you. Now come on, let’s get going. If we’re lucky and they’re still there, I can show you a neat card trick.”


End file.
